Autonomous mobile steam cleaning device

ABSTRACT

An autonomous mobile steam cleaning device includes a mobile robot being formed with a hot steam/vapor generator and a first water tank with hot water during autonomous steam cleaning; a base station providing either hot water or water and power to pre-heat water to the first water tank before autonomous steam cleaning commences; and a steam dispersing apparatus provided with at least one steam port in communication with the hot steam./vapor generator.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present technology is generally related to the field of cleaning devices and, more particularly, the present technology is related to an autonomous mobile steam cleaning device.

BACKGROUND

Steam mopping has been widely used in homes and commercial setting due to effective cleaning and disinfecting. In order to generate steam in a short time and keep producing steam during the entire cleaning process, a steam mop consumes significant power and has a wattage ranging from 1100 to 1800 watts. Therefore, most of the steam mops needs to be connected to power grid through outlet to draw power.

Since the invention of vacuum robot, tedious room vacuum tasks can be done by robot autonomously. In recent years, mopping capabilities are also introduced. However, although steam mop is a very effective cleaning and disinfecting technology, it has not been implemented for robot because of high power consumption. A conventional vacuum robot generally has only 30-60 watts of power, about 2%-6% of the power needed for a steam mop. Therefore, there is no consumer product that provides steam cleaning function on cleaning robot.

In view of the foregoing, what is needed therefore, is to provide an autonomous mobile steam cleaning device, which can continuously generate steam for robotic home cleaning applications.

SUMMARY

According to one embodiment of the present application, an autonomous mobile steam cleaning device includes: a mobile robot being formed with a hot steam/vapor generator and a first water tank with hot water during autonomous steam cleaning; a base station providing either hot water or water and power to pre-heat water to the first water tank before autonomous steam cleaning commences; and a steam dispersing apparatus provided with at least one steam port in communication with the hot steam/vapor generator.

1000661 According to one aspect of the present application, the first water tank is an onboard thermal water tank to preserve the temperature of the pre-heated water.

According to one aspect of the present application, the base station is formed with a second water tank to reduce the frequency needed for user to fill water, a pump to fill the first water tank with hot water, a power source and a heater to heat water while filling the first water tank.

According to one aspect of the present application, the base station comprises a heater capable of providing energy to heat water, and the mobile robot is provided with a heating chamber formed with a miniature heating element.

According to one aspect of the present application, the mobile robot comprises an onboard heater capable of providing energy to pre-heat water in the first water tank, and the hot steam/vapor generator is a heating chamber formed with a miniature heating element.

According to one aspect of the present application, the base station comprises an energy source to pre-heat water in the water tank when the autonomous steam cleaning device is docked in the station.

According to one aspect of the present application, the hot steam/vapor generator of the mobile robot comprises an atomization device such as an ultra-sound based device) and an onboard heater to heat vapor before dispensing it.

According to one aspect of the present application, the autonomous steam cleaning device further comprises an external pump to pump unused water in the first water tank back to the second water tank after a cleaning task for reheat.

According to one aspect of the present application, the first water tank defines a first through port to fill water from the second water tank and a second through port to pump unused water in the first water tank to the second water tank for reheat.

According to another embodiment of the present application, a method for generating hot steam vapor for an autonomous steam cleaning device includes the steps of: S1: adding water to the second water tank integrated with the docking/charging station; S2: heating water from the second water tank while pumping it to the first water tank while the mobile robot is docked; S3: maintaining temperature of pre-heated water during autonomous steam cleaning; and S4: heating hot water from the first water tank to generate hot steam/vapor or atomizing (e.g. ultrasound atomization) water from the first water tank to generate hot steam/vapor.

According to one aspect of the present application, the first water tank is an onboard thermal water tank to preserve the temperature of the pre-heated water.

According to one aspect of the present application, the base station comprises an onboard heater, and the mobile robot comprises a heating chamber provided with a miniature heating element to heat or vaporize or atomize the pre-heated water from the first water tank to generate steam/vapor.

According to one aspect of the present application, the mobile robot comprises an onboard heater providing energy to heat water from the second water tank, and a heating chamber provided with a miniature heating element or an atomization device such as an ultra-sound based deice to heat or vaporize to atomize the pre-heated water from the first water tank.

According to one aspect of the present application, the base station comprises an onboard heater providing energy to heat water from the second water tank, and the mobile robot comprises atomization device such as an ultra-sound based deice to vaporize the pre-heated water from the first water tank.

According to one aspect of the present application, the mobile robot comprises an onboard heater providing energy to pre-heat water from the second water tank and an ultra-sound based device to heat or vaporize the pre-heated water from the first water tank and a heater to heat the vapor.

According to one aspect of the present application, the method of the present application further comprises the step of pumping unused water in the first water tank back to the second water tank for reheat via an external pump after a cleaning task.

According to one aspect of the present application, the first water tank defines a first through port to fill water fr©m the second water tank and a second through port to pump unused water in the first water tank to the second water tank for reheat.

Most of the energy consumed by a steam mop is to heat the water from room temperature to boiling point. Requiring user to fill steam mop with hot water every time is impractical and even dangerous. The present application divides the process of hot steam/vapor generation into two parts: the cleaning device has a second water tank integrated with the charging station. Therefore, users do not need to fill robot water tank for every cleaning task. The cleaning device will be automatically filled with water from the second water tank when it receives either a steam cleaning task or a wet cleaning task.

More importantly, the cleaning device of the present application will heat water pumping from the second water tank to robot to 95-98° C./206-210° F. automatically. The heating will be performed with high wattage heating element using electricity from the power grid, thereby saving the energy fr©m onboard battery. The cleaning device of the present application has a first water tank to maintain the temperature of the hot water. The hot water will be then pumped to a hot steam/vapor generator and hot steam will be generated using onboard heater. Because water temperature onboard is already close to the boiling point, the energy required for producing enough steam for cleaning is significantly reduced and can be provided by an onboard battery.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an autonomous mobile steam cleaning device according to one embodiment of the present application; and

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a hot steam/vapor generator and a steam dispersing apparatus of the autonomous mobile steam cleaning device according to one embodiment of the present application.

It is to be further noted that the design or configuration of the components presented in these figures are not scale, and/or are intended for purposes of illustration only. Accordingly, the design or configuration of the components may be other than herein described without departing from the intended scope of the present disclosure. These figures should therefore not be viewed in a limiting sense.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Various embodiments are described hereinafter. It should be noted that the specific embodiments are not intended as an exhaustive description or as a limitation to the broader aspects discussed herein. One aspect described in conjunction with a particular embodiment is not necessarily limited to that embodiment and may be practiced with any other embodiment(s).

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, according to one embodiment of the present application, an autonomous mobile steam cleaning device includes a mobile robot 10 being formed with a hot steam/vapor generator 100 and a first water tank 102 with hot water during autonomous steam cleaning; a base station 20 providing either hot water or water and power to pre-heat water to the first water tank 102 before autonomous steam cleaning commences; and a steam dispersing apparatus 30 provided with at least one steam port 300 in communication with the hot steam/vapor generator 100. In the embodiment as illustrated in FIG. 1, the first water tank 102 is an onboard thermal water tank to preserve the temperature of the pre-heated water. During the autonomous steam cleaning process, the hot water in the first water tank 102 has a temperature close to the boiling point of water, for instance 90-98′C. The base station 20 is provided with a second water tank 202 to reduce the frequency needed for user to fill water, a pump 204 to fill the first water tank 102 with pre-heated water, and a power source to pre-heat water.

There are various kinds of ways to generate hot steam/vapor, so as to continuously generate steam for robotic home cleaning applications. For instance, according to one aspect of the present application, the base station 20 includes a heater 206 capable of providing energy to pre-heat water, and the mobile robot 10 is provided with a heating chamber 104 formed with a miniature heating element 114. According to another aspect of the present application, the mobile robot 10 includes an onboard heater capable of providing energy to pre-heat water in the first water tank 102, and the hot steam/vapor generator 100 is a heating chamber 104 formed with a miniature heating element 114. According to yet another aspect of the present application, the base station 20 provides energy to pre-heat water in the first water tank 102 when the autonomous device is docked in the station. According to still another aspect of the present application, the mobile robot 10 includes an onboard heater 114 capable of providing energy to pre-heat water in the first water tank 102, and the hot steam/vapor generator 100 can be an ultra-sound based device 112.

Referring particularly to FIG. 1, according to a preferred embodiment of the present application, the autonomous steam cleaning device further includes an external pump 204 to pump unused water in the first water tank 102 back to the second water tank 202 for reheat. In this case, the first water tank 102 defines a first through port 108 to fill water from the second water tank 200 and a second through port 110 to pump unused water in the first water tank 102 to the second water tank 202 for reheat.

According to a second embodiment of the present application, a method for generating hot steam/vapor for an autonomous mobile steam cleaning device of the present application is provided. The method for generating hot steam/vapor for an autonomous steam cleaning device includes the steps of: S1: adding water to the second water tank 202 integrated with the docking/charging station; S2: heating water from the second water tank 202 while pumping it to the first water tank 102 while the mobile robot is docked; S3: maintaining temperature of pre-heated water during autonomous steam cleaning; and S4: heating hot water from the first water tank to generate hot steam/vapor or atomizing (e.g. ultrasound atomization) water from the first water tank to generate hot steam/vapor.

More specifically, in step S2, the first water tank 102 is an onboard thermal water tank to preserve the temperature of the pre-heated water. During the autonomous steam cleaning process, water in the first water tank 102 has a temperature close to boiling point of the water, such as 90-98° C.

In the method of the present application, the mobile robot 10 and the base station 20 may have different structures to generate hot steam/vapor. For instance, the base station 20 includes an onboard heater 206, and the mobile robot 10 includes a heating chamber 104 provided with a miniature heating element 114 to heat or vaporize the pre-heated water from the first water tank 102. Alternatively, the mobile robot 10 includes an onboard heater providing energy to pre-heat water from the second water tank 200, and a heating chamber 104 provided with a miniature heating element to heat or vaporize the pre-heated water from the first water tank 102. According to another aspect of the present application, the base station 20 includes an onboard heater 114 providing energy to pre-heat water from the second water tank 200, and the mobile robot 10 includes an ultra-sound based deice 112 to heat or vaporize the pre-heated water from the first water tank 102. Alternatively, the mobile robot 10 includes an onboard heater 114 providing energy to pre-heat water from the second water tank 202 and an ultra-sound based device 112 to heat or vaporize the pre-heated water from the first water tank 102 and a heater to heat the vapor.

Since the user cannot guarantee all hot water will be used during a steam cleaning task, when the robot comes back to charging station, its water tank will be emptied by external pump or pumping unused water back to external water tank for reheat to ensure that no cold water left on robot which can increase the battery usage for steam generation. According to one embodiment of the present application, the method of the present application further includes the step of pumping unused water in the first water tank 102 back to the second water tank 202 for reheat via an external pump 204. In this case, the first water tank 102 defines a first through port 108 to fill water from the second water tank 202 and a second through port 110 to pump unused water in the first water tank 102 to the second water tank 200 for reheat.

Compared with the conventional cleaning device, the cleaning device of the present application will heat water pumping from the second water tank to robot to 95-98° C./206-210° F. automatically. The heating will be performed with high wattage heating element using electricity from the power grid, thereby saving the energy from onboard battery. The cleaning device of the present application has a first water tank to maintain the temperature of the hot water. The hot water will be then pumped to a hot steam/vapor generator and hot steam will be generated using onboard heater. Because water temperature onboard is already close to the boiling point, the energy required for producing enough steam for cleaning is significantly reduced and can be provided by an onboard battery. Therefore, the autonomous and/or wireless portable steam cleaning device of the present application can continuously generate steam for robotic home cleaning applications.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, although the foregoing descriptions describe example embodiments, it should be appreciated that alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An autonomous steam cleaning device, comprising: a mobile robot being formed with a hot steam/vapor generator and a first water tank with hot water during autonomous steam cleaning; a base station providing either hot water or water and power to pre-heat water to the first water tank before autonomous steam cleaning commences; and a steam dispersing apparatus provided with at least one steam port in communication with the hot steam/vapor generator.
 2. The autonomous steam cleaning device of claim 1, wherein the first water tank is an onboard thermal water tank to preserve temperature of pre-heated water.
 3. The autonomous steam cleaning device of claim 1, wherein the base station is formed with a second water tank to reduce a frequency needed for a user to fill water, a pump to fill the first water tank with hot water, a power source and a heater to heat water while filling the first water tank.
 4. The autonomous steam cleaning device of claim 3, wherein the base station comprises a heater capable of providing energy to heat water, and the mobile robot is provided with a heating chamber formed with a miniature heating element.
 5. The autonomous steam cleaning device of claim 3, wherein the mobile robot comprises an onboard heater capable of providing energy to pre-heat the water in the first water tank, and the hot steam/vapor generator is a heating chamber formed with a miniature heating element.
 6. The autonomous steam cleaning device of claim 3, wherein the base station comprises an energy source to pre-heat the water in the first water tank when the autonomous steam cleaning device is docked in the base station.
 7. The autonomous steam cleaning device of claim 3, wherein the hot steam/vapor generator of the mobile robot comprises an atomization device and an onboard heater to heat vapor before dispensing the vapor.
 8. The autonomous steam cleaning device of claim 3, further comprising an external pump to pump unused water in the first water tank back to the second water tank after a cleaning task for reheat.
 9. The autonomous steam cleaning device of claim 8, wherein the first water tank defines a first through port to fill water from the second water tank and a second through port to pump the unused water in the first water tank to the second water tank for reheat.
 10. The autonomous steam cleaning device of claim 1, wherein during the autonomous steam cleaning process, the hot water in the first water tank having a temperature close to the boiling point of water.
 11. A method for generating hot steam/vapor for an autonomous steam cleaning device, the autonomous steam cleaning device provided with a mobile robot having a first water tank and a hot steam/vapor generator, and a base station providing with a second water tank integrated with a docking/charging station, the method comprising the steps of: S1: adding water to the second water tank integrated with the docking/charging station; S2: heating the water from the second water tank while pumping water to the first water tank while the mobile robot is docked S3: maintaining temperature of pre-heated water during autonomous steam cleaning; and S4: heating hot water from the first water tank t© generate hot steam/vapor or atomizing the water from the first water tank to generate hot steam/vapor.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first water tank is an onboard thermal water tank to preserve the temperature of the pre-heated water.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the base station comprises an onboard heater, and the mobile robot comprises a heating chamber provided with a miniature heating element to heat or vaporize the pre-heated water from the first water tank.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein the mobile robot comprises an onboard heater providing energy to pre-heat the water from the second water tank, and a heating chamber provided with a miniature heating element to heat or vaporize the pre-heated water from the first water tank.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein the base station comprises an onboard heater providing energy to pre-heat the water from the second water tank, and the mobile robot comprises an ultra-sound based device to heat or vaporize the pre-heated water fr©m the first water tank.
 16. The method of claim 11, wherein the mobile robot comprises an onboard heater providing energy to pre-heat the water from the second water tank and an ultra-sound based device to vaporize the pre-heated water from the first water tank and a heater to heat the vapor if needed.
 17. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of pumping unused water in the first water tank back to the second water tank for reheat via an external pump.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the first water tank defines a first through port to fill water from the second water tank and a second through port to pump the unused water in the first water tank to the second water tank for reheat.
 19. The method of claim 11, wherein during autonomous steam cleaning process, the water in the first water tank having a temperature close to the boiling point of water.
 20. The method of claim 11, wherein during autonomous steam cleaning process, the water in the first water tank having a temperature of 90-98° C. 